Explanation: Orbiting asteroid 433 Eros, 145 million miles
from Earth, NASA's NEAR spacecraft has been returning
stunning views as its year long mission of exploration
gets underway.
A mosaic of recent
NEAR images recorded
at a range of about 127 miles,
this picture illustrates
some of the amazing contrasts which apparently exist within the
domain of this diminutive world.
Features as small as 65 feet are visible here,
while long shadows emphasize the differences
in the cratered regions at the left and smooth groved terrain at right.
Up close, the undulating surface seems
flecked with bright deposits and
peppered with enormous boulders.
As NEAR
is poised to
investigate
mysteries of
the formation of
asteroids and the origins of the solar system from this unprecedented
vantage point, NASA has renamed the spacecraft
NEAR Shoemaker
in honor of the late Dr. Eugene M. Shoemaker,
legendary geologist,
comet hunter,
and inspirational pioneer in the field
of interplanetary science.